This invention relates generally to the art of dispensing cleaning products and more particularly to a hand held apparatus for spraying a liquid cleaning product onto a surface for the cleaning of the surface.
A variety of hand held pump devices have been developed for the consumer to utilize in order to apply cleaning solution to soiled surfaces. Such cleaning solutions are generally of the all-purpose type or specialized window or bathroom cleaners. Hand held devices have normally been trigger or fingertip operated. An example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,252. The spray apparatus illustrated therein creates very high pressures upon trigger actuation. Pressure magnitudes are such that a great deal of forgiveness is tolerated with regard to the efficiency and efficacy of the nozzle mechanisms in the production of desirable spray patterns. Of course, a shortcoming of trigger actuated devices is that the operation is intermittent such that a spray pattern only occurs upon each actuation of the trigger. Additionally, such trigger operated devices cause finger fatigue when large surfaces are to be cleaned. This is especially a problem when the user is easily fatigued, aged or otherwise suffers from some debilitation such as arthritis. A large variety of trigger actuated devices are described in prior art patents.
In the art of spraying, per se, separate and apart from the art of hand held dispensers for consumer cleaning products, battery operated industrial sprayers are exemplified by the devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,099 to Nagao, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,770 to Sayen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,116 to Jones, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,449 to Bochmann.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,973 discloses a hand held rechargeable battery operated air compressor which may be in communication with a plastic container of a liquid to be sprayed. Such device is intended to replace aerosols for the spraying of a liquid such as hair spray.
In the novelty device area, there have been battery operated water pistols such as that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,848 to D'Andrade. Such novelty devices are not concerned with the spray patterns which must be developed in order to assist the consumer with the use of a cleaning product and concomitantly are not confronted with the pressure limitations in that regard.
Thus, while a variety of devices exist for spraying liquids, significant room for improvement exists to aid the consumer in the spraying of liquid cleaning products.